European history Books

Book Synopsis'With God's help, I, Bede ... have assembled these facts about the history of the Church in Britain ... from the traditions of our forebears, and from my own personal knowledge'Written in AD 731, Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People is the first account of Anglo-Saxon England ever written, and remains our single most valuable source for this period. It begins with Julius Caesar's invasion in the first century BC and goes on to tell of the kings and bishops, monks and nuns who helped to develop government and convert the people to Christianity during these crucial formative years. Relating the deeds of great men and women but also describing landscape, customs and ordinary lives, this is a rich, vivid portrait of an emerging church and nation by the 'Father of English History'.Leo Sherley-Price's translation from the Latin brings us an accurate and readable version of Bede's History. This edition includes Bede's Letter to EgTable of ContentsBook one: the situation of Britain and Ireland - their earliest inhabitants; on Gaius Julius Caesar, the first Roman to reach Britain; Claudius - the second Roman to reach Britain - annexes the Isles of Orkney to the Roman Empire - under his direction Vespasian subdues the Isle of Wight; Lucius - a British king - writes to Pope Eleutherus and asks to be made a Christian; Severus divides Roman Britain from the rest by an earth work; the reign of Diocletian - his persecution of the Christian Church; the martyrdom of Saint Alban and his companions - who shed their life-blood for Christ at this time; the Church in Britain enjoys peace from the end of this persecution until the time of the Arian heresy; during the reign of Gratian - Maximus is created Emperor in Britain and returns to Gaul with a large army; during the reign of Arcadius - the Briton Pelagius presumptuously belittles the grace of God; during the reign of Honorius - Gratian and Constantine set up as despots in Britain - the former is killed shortly afterwards in Britain - the latter in Gaul; the Britons - harassed by the Irish and Picts - seek help from the Romans - who come and build a second wall across the island - notwithstanding, these enemies again break in and reduce the Britons to worse straits; during the reign of Theodosius the Younger - Palladius is sent to the Christians among the Irish - the Britons make an unsuccessful appeal to the Consul Aetius; the Britons made desperate by famine drive the Barbarians out of their land - there soon follows an abundance of corn - luxury - plague - and doom on the nation. (Part contents)

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Book SynopsisWritten when Engels was only twenty-four, and inspired in particular by his time living amongst the poor in Manchester, this forceful polemic explores the staggering human cost of the Industrial Revolution in Victorian England. Engels paints an unforgettable picture of daily life in the new industrial towns, and for miners and agricultural workers--depicting overcrowded housing, abject poverty, child labour, sexual exploitation, dirt and drunkenness--in a savage indictment of the greed of the bourgeoisie. His fascinating later preface, written for the first English edition of 1892 and included here, brought the story up to date in the light of forty years'' further refelection. A masterpiece of committed reporting and an impassioned call to arms, this is one of the great pioneering works of social history.

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Book Synopsis''James Holland is the best of the new generation of WW2 historians.'' Sebastian Faulks''Holland''s skill lies in bringing these warriors to life with vivid prose.'' The TimesShortlisted for the 2021 British Army Military Book of the Year_________________________________________________This is the story of the biggest seaborne landing in history.Codenamed Operation HUSKY, the assault on Sicily on 10 July 1943 remains the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted. That day, over 160,000 Allied troops were dropped from the sky or came ashore to begin the fight for Europe.The subsequent thirty-eight-day Battle for Sicily was one of the most dramatic of the entire war, involving daring raids by special forces, deals with the Mafia, attacks across mosquito-infested plains and perilous assaults up almost sheer faces of rock and scree.Made worse by virulent disease and extreme heat, the Allies also had to fight their way across anTrade ReviewMarshalling a wealth of primary and secondary sources into an engrossing narrative, Holland fills a yawning gap in histories of WWII. This magisterial account is a must-read for military history fans. * Publishers Weekly *Perfect territory for a military historian of Holland's talents * The Times *Historians too often neglect that emotional tapestry. War is characterised as arrows on a map, tables of munitions, cold casualty statistics. Holland's skill lies in bringing these warriors to life with vivid prose. He's a prolific historian of the war, but each book is constructed with great care and emotional commitment...Holland is obsessed with war, but fortunately does not seem to love it. He recognises its beauty, but also its vileness * The Times *Holland argues very effectively that the success of Husky was a turning point in the war * Times Literary Supplement *Holland makes the capture of the island one of the great turning-point battles of the war * Military History Matters *

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Book SynopsisFrom the CWA Historical Dagger Award-nominated author of The Angel's Mark in 2019 and The Serpent's Mark in 2020England, 1593: Five years on from the Armada and Elizabeth's kingdom seems secure. But there is always a plot afoot...Robert Cecil, the Queen's spymaster, needs Nicholas Shelby - reluctant spy and maverick physician - to embark on an undercover mission once again. One that he can't refuse, if he wants to keep Bianca Merton safe.Crossing the seas to Marrakesh in search of a missing informer, Nicholas hunts the dingy back alleys and dazzling palaces for the truth. But his search reveals a deadly conspiracy, one far more difficult to survive than he'd ever imagined.And back in London the plague has returned, ravaging the streets and threatening everything he holds most dear...________________________Praise for The Jackdaw Mysteries, a CWA Dagger finalist series'S. W. Perry is one of the best' The Times'No-one is better than S. W. Perry at leading us through the squalid streets of London in the sixteenth century' Andrew Swanston'S. W. Perry's ingeniously plotted novels have become my favourite historical crime series' S. G. MacLeanTrade ReviewThe third in Perry's series is as dramatic and colourful as the previous two. * The Sunday Times *An absolute belter of a read and another fabulous addition to the Jackdaw Mysteries series... I just gobbled up the pages as the story fairly roars along battling spies and pirates on route... S. W. Perry ensures the sights, smells and sounds of London and Morocco entered my very being. I love this series. -- Liz Robinson * LoveReading, Picks of the month *The writing is of such a quality, the characters so engaging and the setting so persuasive that, only two books in, S.W. Perry's ingeniously plotted novels have become my favourite historical crime series. * S. G. MacLean on The Serpent's Mark *A satisfyingly convoluted plot. * Sunday Times on The Serpent's Mark *No-one is better than S. W. Perry at leading us through the squalid streets of London in the sixteenth century. * Andrew Swanston on The Serpent's Mark *The Serpent's Mark is an excellent evocation of Elizabethan England, with espionage, intricate conspiracies, strange medical practises and a gripping story. A rattling good read. * William Ryan on The Serpent's Mark *A gorgeous book - rich, intelligent and dark in equal measure. It immerses you in the late 16th century and leaves you wrung out with terror. This is historical fiction at its most sumptuous. * Rory Clements on The Angel's Mark *Wonderful! Beautiful writing, and Perry's Elizabethan London is so skilfully evoked, so real that one can almost smell it. * Giles Kristian on The Angel's Mark *[With] intrigue and suspense, Perry's diligent research makes the period detail convincing. Fans of S.J. Parris and C.J. Sansom will be pleased. * Publishers Weekly, starred review *

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Book SynopsisFor four centuries, Logavina Street was a quiet residential road in a city known for its ethnic tolerance and cosmopolitan charm. Muslims, Christians, Serbs and Croats lived easily together, sharing an identity as Bosnians. Then the war tore their lives apart. Often without heat, water, food or electricity, they evaded daily sniper fire and witnessed horrific deaths. Neighbours and friends turned into deadly enemies. In this intimate eyewitness account, Barbara Demick weaves together the stories of ten families from Logavina Street, brilliantly illuminating one of the pivotal events of the twentieth century, and describes how, twenty years later, they are coping with the war's consequences. .

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Book SynopsisJoseph Goebbels was one of Adolf Hitler's most loyal acolytes. But how did this club-footed son of a factory worker rise from obscurity to become Hitler's malevolent minister of propaganda, most trusted lieutenant and personally anointed successor? In this definitive one-volume biography, renowned German Holocaust historian Peter Longerich sifts through the historical record and thirty thousand pages of Goebbels's own diary entries to answer that question. Longerich paints a chilling picture of a man driven by a narcissistic desire for recognition who found the personal affirmation he craved within the virulently racist National Socialist movement and whose lifelong search for a charismatic father figure inexorably led him to Hitler. This comprehensive biography documents Goebbels' ascent through the ranks of the Nazi Party, where he became a member of the Führer's inner circle and launched a brutal campaign of anti-Semitic propaganda. Goebbels delivers freTrade ReviewA landmark biography * Daily Mail *A landmark biography * Daily Mail *An impressive achievement... illuminating … indispensable -- Richard J EvansMeticulous in its detail… a major work of scholarship -- Ben Shephard * Observer *[A] grimly compelling new biography * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisThe most enjoyable, glamorous and gripping of all 19th-century autobiographies - a tumultuous account of France hit by wave after wave of revolutionsMemoirs from Beyond the Tomb is the greatest and most influential of all French autobiographies - an extraordinary, highly entertaining account of a uniquely adventurous and frenzied life. Chateaubriand gives a superb narrative of the major events of his life - which spanned the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Era and the uneasy period that led up to the Revolution of 1830.

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Book Synopsis*WINNER OF THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE 2023**A NEW YORKER BOOK OF THE YEAR*''The best book about the subject I have ever read'' Max Hastings, Sunday TimesA sweeping history of occupation and resistance in war-torn Europe, from the acclaimed author of The Eagle UnbowedAcross the whole of Nazi-ruled Europe the experience of occupation was sharply varied. Some countries - such as Denmark - were within tight limits allowed to run themselves. Others - such as France - were constrained not only by military occupation but by open collaboration. In a historical moment when Nazi victory seemed permanent and irreversible, the question ''why resist?'' was therefore augmented by ''who was the enemy?''.Resistance is an extraordinarily powerful, humane and haunting account of how and why all across Nazi-occupied Europe some people decided to resist the Third Reich. This could range from open partisan warfare in theTrade ReviewThe best book about the resistance I have ever read. It addresses the story with scholarly objectivity and an absolute lack of sentimentality ... it is marvellous to read a study of such breadth and depth, which reaches balanced judgments. -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *Ground-breaking ... a superb, myth-busting survey of the many ways in which the subjugated peoples of Europe tried to fight back. -- Saul David * Daily Telegraph *A full and nuanced account of all the different forms of resistance... a timely book. * Times Literary Supplement *Eminently readable ... subtle, multilayered and kaleidoscopic ... Kochanski's gripping account of the activities of the resistance includes, as might be expected, tales of derring-do and extraordinary courage as well as tragedy, betrayal and Nazi barbarism. -- Andrew Stuttaford * Wall Street Journal *This ambitious history offers the first unified picture of resistance against Nazi Germany in the many countries it invaded ... Dispensing with heroics and highlighting the imperfect, human nature of the underground, [Kochanski] nevertheless depicts a vital defence of dignity, spirit, and the future, mounted against all odds. * New Yorker *Halik Kochanski's Resistance reads less like a work of history and more like a chronicle of a partisan war foretold ... her scrupulous scholarship, and her refusal to romanticize the grim, grimy work of being a resister, does make Resistance something of a primer for the many Ukrainians now fighting to undermine Russian authority. -- Yuliya Tymoshenko * Project Syndicate *This history of resistance in the Second World War is as moving as it is comprehensive. * The Critic *An excellent comparative study of wartime resistance in all its forms. * BBC History *

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Book Synopsis*A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK*''Utterly enthralling - a beautifully-written voyage of discovery that takes us deep into the heart of music-making'' Deborah MoggachFrom the moment she hears Lev''s violin for the first time, Helena Attlee is captivated. She is told that it is an Italian instrument, named after its former Russian owner. Eager to discover all she can about its ancestry and the stories contained within its delicate wooden body, she sets out for Cremona, birthplace of the Italian violin. This is the beginning of a beguiling journey whose end she could never have anticipated.Making its way from dusty workshops, through Alpine forests, cool Venetian churches, glittering Florentine courts, and far-flung Russian flea markets, Lev''s Violin takes us from the heart of Italian culture to its very furthest reaches. Its story of luthiers and scientists, princes and orphans, musicians, composers, travellers and raconteurs swells to a poignTrade ReviewUtterly enthralling - a beautifully written voyage of discovery that takes us deep into the heart of music-making. -- Deborah Moggach * author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel *A beguiling quest that draws its author from the Italian heartland of the violin to the edge of Asiatic Russia, told with a passion that is at once gentle and compelling. -- Colin Thubron * author of To a Mountain in Tibet *Elegant and ambitious ... Attlee pursues her story with honesty, diligence and open-mindedness ... An original and refreshingly unorthodox approach to history * Guardian *Attlee's love and unbounded enthusiasm for Italy shine through the pages ... She writes with zest about her sleuthing odyssey, her investigations into the art of lutherie and the dynasties dedicated to the crafting of these delightful objects. Whether it be a distant family history, the timber forests of the Dolomites or a momentary encounter, Attlee captures it in firm, fresh prose. -- Graham Elliot * Spectator *Attlee writes with rare beauty and sensitivity about music, and her love of Italian culture positively sings from the pages ... Deeply absorbing -- Kate Wakeling * BBC Music Magazine *In limpid, searching prose, Helena Attlee shows us how music can cast spells but also bridge the distance of centuries. -- Marina Benjamin * author of The Middlepause *Charming and original ... Attlee has the natural storyteller's gift. -- Stephen Walsh * author of Debussy *Charming ... Attlee tells the story in easy, luminous prose, infused with a deep understanding for the way human value accrues mysteriously in things, and in the act of making them * Telegraph *Reading Lev's Violin is like listening to a fine instrument: thoroughly relaxing but also exciting, fun yet deeply serious ... with constant surprises and charms -- Tobias Jones * author of The Dark Heart of Italy *Illuminating, engrossing ... a wide-ranging exploration of the history and cultural significance of the Italian violin * TLS *Beguiling and truly original ... An amazing journey ... one of the joys is the glimpses it affords of forgotten historical byways and of a colourful, sometimes roguish cast of characters ... Attlee has such a wonderful way with words that as a reader you almost imagine you can see, as well as hear, Lev's violin * Daily Mail *Seductive, captivating ... A book that pleases the more for so neatly resisting characterisation * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisBy the time the First World War ended in 1918, eight million people had died in what had been perhaps the most apocalyptic episode the world had known. This Very Short Introduction provides a concise and insightful history of the ''Great War'', focusing on why it happened, how it was fought, and why it had the consequences it did. It examines the state of Europe in 1914 and the outbreak of war; the onset of attrition and crisis; the role of the US; the collapse of Russia; and the weakening and eventual surrender of the Central Powers. Looking at the historical controversies surrounding the causes and conduct of war, Michael Howard also describes how peace was ultimately made, and the potent legacy of resentment left to Germany. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition Review from previous edition succinct, comprehensive and beautifully written. Indeed reading it is an experience comparable to scanning the clues of a well-composed crossword puzzle. Every allusion is eventually supplied with an answer, and the finished product defies the puzzler's disbelief that the intricacies can be brought to a convincing conclusion. . . . Michael Howard is the master of the short book * TLS *Howard expertly and succintly summarizes the Great War for the layperson... volume is an excellent way to get a grounding in this momentous subject * Forbes Global 21/03/03 *an enlightened idea to produce a very short account of the great war - a page per month - . . . . But if, in 2014, bright schoolchildren, their brains putified by GCSE, get around to asking what the first world war was about, Howard's book will be very valuable. * The Times, Culture *Professor Sir Michael Howard, . . ., is our best living military historian, and perhaps also strategic thinker. His new work is a masterly introduction to the Great War, desgined for those with no previous knowldge of the subject. . . . Any new student who reads Michael Howard should go on to address the first volume of Hew Strachan's huge new work on the same theme. There is great wisdom in both books, and wisdom on this subject is in short supply. * Sunday Telegraph *Table of Contents1. Europe in 1914 ; 2. The Coming of War ; 3. 1914: The Opening Campaigns ; 4. 1915: The War Continues ; 5. 1916: The War of Attrition ; 6. The United States Enters the War ; 7. 1917: The Year of Crisis ; 8. 1918: The Year of Decision ; 9. The Settlement ; Appendix I: President Wilson's Fourteen Points ; Appendix II: Total War Casualties ; Further Reading

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Book Synopsis** The latest volume in the World War One trilogy, The Eastern Front, is out now **A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARA TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR''A tour de force of scholarship, analysis and narration . . . Lloyd is well on the way to writing a definitive history of the First World War'' Lawrence James, The Times''This well-researched, well-written and cogently argued new analysis . . . will undoubtedly now take its rightful place as the standard account of this vital theatre of the conflict'' Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny_________________In the annals of military history, the Western Front stands as an enduring symbol of the folly and futility of war.However, as bestselling military historian Nick Lloyd reveals in this highly-praised history - the first of an epic trilogy -- the story is not one of pointlessness and stupidity, but rather a heroic triumph against the odds. With a cast of hundreds and a huge canvas of places and events, Lloyd tells the whole tale, revealing what happened in France and Belgium between August 1914 and November 1918 from the perspective of all the main combatants - including French, British, Belgian, US and, most importantly, German forces.Lloyd examines the most decisive campaigns of the Great War and explains the unprecedented innovation, adaptation and tactical development that have been too long obscured by legends of mud, blood and futility, drawing upon the latest scholarship on the war, wrongly overlooked first-person accounts, and archival material from every angle. Conveying the visceral assault of the battlefield with vivid detail, Lloyd ultimately redefines our understanding of a crucial theatre in this monumental tragedy._________________''Excellent on detail . . . Lloyd''s book will be cherished by military history buffs'' Max Hastings, Sunday Times''It is the best modern single-volume history of war on the Western Front and is likely to remain the standard account for some time'' Jonathan Boff, The SpectatorTrade ReviewThis is a bold book. Nick Lloyd has written a tour de force of scholarship, analysis and narration . . . Lloyd is well on the way to writing a definitive history of the First World War -- Lawrence James * The Times *Excellent on detail...Lloyd's book will be cherished by military history buffs -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *Authoritative and fast-paced...By the end of the book, one has a panoramic view of this crucial theatre of war -- Simon Heffer * Sunday Telegraph *A work of serious scholarship that reflects the author's understanding not merely of the military campaigns, but of the men who fought them. Lloyd has written a remarkably authoritative overview of an expansive subject, and a perfect introduction to a more granular study of the conflict * The Telegraph *This well-researched, well-written and cogently argued new analysis overturns all our assumptions and received wisdom about the fighting on the most important front of the Great War. Nick Lloyd deserves congratulation for having written what will undoubtedly now take its rightful place as the standard account of this vital theatre of the conflict -- Andrew Roberts, author of ‘Churchill: Walking with Destiny’An enthralling read. Lloyd deftly guides us through a labyrinth of military detail while never allowing the pace of his narrative to slacken. His account of France's role on the Western Front, often less well documented in Anglo-Saxon accounts, is particularly revealing. Most of us are familiar with the names of the generals involved, but Lloyd brings them sharply to life with his sensitive portrayal of their personalities, idiosyncrasies and relationships with one another. This is an endlessly complex subject to which Lloyd has brought welcome lucidity while never for one moment allowing us to forget the enormity of its tragedy -- Julia Boyd, author of Travellers in the Third ReichThere were many fronts in World War I, but the Western Front, where the industrialized great powers massed their men and resources, was the crucial one. Nick Lloyd has given us the most up-to-date account of the fighting there. He brings the key statesmen and generals to life, as well as the brutal combat from the first battles to the last. Lloyd crisply details the tactical and technological innovation that brought victory, as well as the coalition strategy, economic warfare, and home front management that boosted the Allies and disintegrated the Central Powers -- Geoffrey Wawro, author of The Franco-Prussian War, A Mad Catastrophe, and Sons of Freedom, and director of the University of North Texas Military History CenterAlthough a non-specialist in the history of World War I, I have sought to learn as much as possible about that epochal calamity that cast a dark shadow over the subsequent century. At the core of a generation's agony was the Western Front, which I never fully understood until I read Nick Lloyd's comprehensive, lucid, and evocative narrative that made starkly clear what had previously been a confusing jumble -- James M. McPherson, author of BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM; THE CIVIL WAR ERAThis is harder to do than it looks, but [Nick Lloyd] has produced a well written, clear and snappy account of a familiar but always dramatic story... The Western Front sets a fine example of operational military history. It is the best modern single-volume history of war on the Western Front and is likely to remain the standard account for some time * The Spectator *The Western Front is an impressive achievement. It will, I am sure, become the standard narrative account, and deserves a wide readership * TLS *He writes with a lucidity and panache that makes the book a page-turner . . . [and] synthesises the latest thinking with such exceptional skill and subtlety . . . Without question, this book is an outstanding achievement, a brilliant one-volume military history of the war on the Western Front that combines narrative drive, acute pen-portraits, and penetrating analysis of military developments and command decisions -- Neil Faulkner * Military History Matters *

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Book Synopsis''Every page of Deighton''s work glows with the excitement of discovery ... wonderful'' Geoff Dyer, GuardianThis unflinching history of the darkest days of the Second World War covers the entire world stage, from the Battle of the Atlantic to Pearl Harbor. Rooted in the personal accounts of the soldiers themselves, Blood, Tears and Folly is a sweeping, moving account of the political machinations, the strategy and tactics, the weapons and the men on both sides who created a world of devastation.''If he had never written a word of fiction Deighton would still be remembered for his scholarly and merciless history of the Second World War, Blood, Tears and Folly'' Peter Millar, The TimesTrade ReviewIf he had never written a word of fiction [Deighton] would still be remembered for his scholarly and merciless history of the Second World War, Blood, Tears and Folly. -- Peter Millar * The Times *A splendid read ... He has a novelist's eye for the sort of facts that bring a narrative to life. * Evening Standard *Every page of Deighton's work glows with the excitement of discovery ... What wonderful stuff it is! * Guardian *The skill with which he unmasks his villains, the brilliance with which he can sketch a scene and the sharpness of his characterisation are all unrivalled. * Independent *

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Book SynopsisThe true story of a foundling. ''Extraordinary ... A fascinating, moving book: part history of the Foundling Hospital and the development of child psychology, part Cowan''s own story, and part that of Cowan''s mother'' LUCY SCHOLES, TELEGRAPH Growing up in a wealthy enclave outside San Francisco, Justine Cowan''s life seems idyllic. But her mother''s unpredictable temper drives Justine from home the moment she is old enough to escape. It is only after her mother dies that she finds herself pulling at the threads of a story half-told - her mother''s upbringing in London''s Foundling Hospital. Haunted by this secret history, Justine travels across the sea and deep into the past to discover the girl her mother once was. Here, with the vividness of a true storyteller, she pieces together her mother''s childhood alongside the history of the Foundling Hospital: from its idealistic beginnings in the eighteenth century, how it influenced somTrade ReviewPage-turning and profoundly moving. Her meticulous research has uncovered a strand of British history and she brings it sharply and vividly to life through her personal quest. * Virginia Nicholson *Part-memoir, part-detective story, The Secret Life Of Dorothy Soames will break your heart then piece it back together again ... Simultaneously exploring her mother's story of escape and the history of the Foundling Hospital, this is an unforgettable read * Stylist *An extraordinary memoir . . . Although telling a deeply personal story, Cowan painstakingly gathers her material as if assembling testimony for a day in court. She is also admirably honest about her fraught relationship with her mother . . . The result is this fascinating, moving book; part history of the Foundling Hospital and the development of child psychology, part Cowan's own story, and part that of Dorothy Soames (the name Cowan's mother was given at the hospital) -- Lucy Scholes * Daily Telegraph *The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames is the gripping true story of a daughter's quest to find the truth about her mother's origins-and, in the process, come to terms with her own life and choices. As she uncovers an increasingly dramatic tale of abuse, escape, and recovery, Justine Cowan must grapple with her complex feelings about this woman who, as she comes to learn, never had a real childhood of her own. A riveting, heartbreaking, and ultimately healing journey of discovery * Christina Baker Kline, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Orphan Train *Part investigative journalism, part emotional excavation, this breathtaking and heartbreaking book tells the story of a daughter's need to understand her difficult mother. An unexpected and original addition to the mother/daughter memoir oeuvre, The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames is both moving and artful, rewarding its readers page after page * Adrienne Brodeur, bestselling author of Wild Game: My Mother, Her Secret and Me *Cowan debuts with an impressive memoir about the unearthing of her deceased mother's secret past and a generations-long cycle of family trauma. This frank account of a real-life Dickensian dystopia captivates at every turn * Publishers Weekly *Well-researched and highly personal, the book presents a fascinating narrative tapestry that both informs and moves. A candidly illuminating debut memoir * Kirkus Reviews *In this moving story, Cowan painfully recalls the effect her mother's volatility had on her childhood in California, and how it led to estrangement in adulthood as her legal career developed and she left her mother behind. Yet, despite their broken relationship, upon Eileen's death Cowan found herself drawn to discovering her mother's past: a history that had remained entirely hidden to her until she read Eileen's memoir, which she had previously refused to open . . . This is a beautifully written and tender account of how a daughter came to a late understanding of her mother, and how she began to heal the wounds of all that had gone before * New Statesman *

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Book Synopsis'Julie Summers has an amazing instinct for unearthing good stories and telling quotes.' Craig Brown, The Mail On Sunday 'This is an enjoyable book, peppered with examples of under-reported wartime heroism.' Robert Leigh-Pemberton, The Daily Telegraph 'It’s hard to believe that there are still untold stories about Britain and World War II, but Julie Summers has unearthed a fascinating one that she tells with great verve and style. All in all, Uninvited Guests is a sheer delight.' Lynne Olson, author of Citizens of London and Last Hope IslandA remarkable narrative set against the dark days of World War Two, from one of the country’s foremost social historians.Our Uninvited Guests perfectly captures the spirit of upheaval at the beginning of the Second World War when thousandsTrade Review‘A celebration of the ability of the British to pull together, improvise and transform our most beautiful ancestral homes’ * The Times *‘An intimate picture …engagingly written and covering a good selection of country houses…wonderfully evocative…a warm-hearted and fascinating treatment of a very good story.’ * Country Life *‘Thanks to extremely detailed research Ms Summers has unearthed fascinating stories about how life in country houses changed radically during the war years.’ * Oxford Times *‘Homes of every shape and size played their part… Summers examines in detail the rich cast of characters that occupied these houses.’ * Daily Mail *‘A great panorama of extraordinary tales...Julie Summers has an amazing instinct for unearthing good stories and telling quotes.’ * Mail on Sunday *'This is an enjoyable book, peppered with examples of under-reported wartime heroism.' * The Daily Telegraph *'It’s hard to believe that there are still untold stories about Britain and World War II, but Julie Summers has unearthed a fascinating one that she tells with great verve and style. All in all, Uninvited Guests is a sheer delight.' -- Lynne Olson, author of Citizens of London and Last Hope Island‘By focusing on the human side of the story, Julie has created a book [that] readers who have no previous knowledge of the war and country homes will be able to pick up and enjoy.’ * Aberdeen Press & Journal *

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Book SynopsisIs modern racism a product of secularisation and the decline of Christian universalism? The debate has raged for decades, but up to now, the actual racial views of historical atheists and freethinkers have never been subjected to a systematic analysis. Race in a Godless World sets out to correct the oversight. It centres on Britain and the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century, a time when popular atheist movements were emerging and scepticism about the truth of Christianity was becoming widespread. Covering racial and evolutionary science, imperialism, slavery and racial prejudice in theory and practice, it provides a much-needed account of the complex and sometimes contradictory ideas espoused by the transatlantic community of atheists and freethinkers. It also reflects on the social dimension of irreligiousness, exploring how working-class atheists’ experiences of exclusion could make them sympathetic to other marginalised groups.Trade Review'Presents not only a fascinating glimpse into complex racial discussions in the late 19th century but also a wonderful, updated overview of the movement and the intellectual history of free-thought in general.'Anton Jansson, History of Intellectual Culture 2/2023'Race in a Godless World is a great contribution to the study of historical atheism, but also intellectual and religious history. It is timely, balanced, well-researched, laying bare the wide range of racial views atheists held.'Global Intellectual History'The book will be of interest to both scholars and general readers, who are likely to find this alternative narrative of the origins of racism in Britain and the United States as compelling as it is convincing.'The Journal of American History'Race in a Godless World is a timely and important contribution to a growing field.'The American Historical Review‘Race in a Godless World is an excellent study. This is intellectual history at its best, demonstrating how the discriminated against minority of unbelievers, at the foot of the religious pecking order, challenged racial hierarchies and championed racial minorities. The book shows that a commitment to science and reason underpinned racial views amongst both atheist and religionist intellectuals of the nineteenth century. But scepticism and contrariness drew atheists to apply the same reason in shifting towards a more inclusive and progressive social agenda. With a strong structure and vivid clarity, this is the best contribution so far to scholarly study of how racist thinking came to be linked with, but also rejected by, atheists in the USA and Britain.’Callum G. Brown, University of Glasgow‘An exhaustively researched and gracefully written book that makes a signal contribution to our understanding of the intersection of atheism and racial thought. The first book to fully flesh out the ties between racial thought and atheism, it is a masterful achievement that will be required reading for students and scholars of race, freethought, and British and American history more broadly.’Christopher Cameron, University of North Carolina at Charlotte‘Situating the history of freethought in a fully transatlantic framework, Alexander carefully unpacks the ambivalences and contradictions of white atheist views on race and civilisation. Certain about the superiority of science over Christianity, freethinkers were far less clear about the racial and cross-cultural implications of their irreligion. Many embraced scientific racism and white supremacy, while others resisted xenophobia and race prejudice. Alexander captures these secularist complexities with admirable nuance and insight.’ Leigh E. Schmidt, Washington University in St. Louis -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction: the tangled histories of Christianity, secularization, and race1 Were Adam and Eve our first parents? Atheism and polygenesis2 Brute men: race and society in evolution3 A London Zulu: savagery and civilisation4 The wise men of the east: India, China, and Japan5 The best friends the negro ever had: African Americans and white atheists6 The curse of race prejudice: rethinking race at the turn of the centuryEpilogue: what next for racism in a godless world?NotesBibliographyIndex

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Book Synopsis'Restless, poetic, strange ... and the territory it describes deserves nothing less' Observer'Glittering and energetic' Country LifeYorkshire is 'a continent unto itself', a region where mountain, plain, coast, downs, fen and heath lie close. By weaving history, family stories, travelogue and ecology, Richard Morris reveals how Yorkshire took shape as a landscape and in literature, legend and popular regard. The result is a fascinating and wide-ranging meditation on Yorkshire and Yorkshireness, told through the prism of the region's most extraordinary people and places.Trade Review[A] restless, poetic, strange book, and the territory it describes deserves nothing less -- Andrew Martin * Observer *[A] quirky, personal history of the Ridings ... Making an idiosyncratic selection of events from prehistory to the present day, and using some charming passages of personal memoir, Morris subtly draws out patterns and recurring themes that may explain the county's distinctive history ... Morris writes insightfully not just about one county, but about how places become what they are -- Richard Benson * Mail on Sunday *Reading the book is like watching the author sift through layers of time: whatever will he turn up next? ... There is a wealth of fascinating information - I'd not known, for example, that the fashion for naming houses 'Windyridge' (as both my father and grandfather called theirs) derived from the popularity of a 1912 novel of that title by Willie Riley -- Blake Morrison * Guardian *In this meticulously researched book, Richard Morris reveals Yorkshire and Yorkshireness through a series of extraordinary journeys and stories ... Particularly interesting is the juxtaposition of nature, culture, religion and politics and the way in which places are defined and shaped by geography and terrain ... Morris's description of the River Swale as glittering and energetic could be a metaphor for his own writing, which is itself relentlessly energetic ... Fascinating -- Adrian Dangar * Country Life *Although it is one of the most diverse counties geographically, Yorkshire has always inspired a fierce loyalty among those born there, and it is this sense of place that is the subject of the fascinating Yorkshire * Choice *Engrossing ... Aims to look beyond the Eee By Gum stereotypes to explore the intersections between Yorkshire's landscape, language and identity, and reflect too on how outsiders perceive the county * The Bookseller *County histories have been around considerably longer than many of our present counties, but in that heavily populated landscape this is no ordinary book, and its author no ordinary writer ... With footnotes to do an academic paper proud, Morris constantly comes across stories that he can't leave alone, that he burrows into, finding new connections and insights and behind which, you imagine, often lie sufficient materials for books of their own -- Mike Pitts * British Archaeology *One of the most unusual and thought-provoking guides to the county's distant and recent past * Craven Herald *[L]earned and gripping -- Alan Crosby * Who Do You Think You Are? magazine *

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Book SynopsisThis is the extraordinary story of how salt fish from Shetland became one of the staple foods of Europe, powered an economic boom and inspired artists, writers and musicians. It ranges from the wild waters of the North Atlantic, the ice-filled fjords of Greenland and the remote islands of Faroe to the dining tables of London’s middle classes, the bacalao restaurants of Spain and the Jewish shtetls of Eastern Europe. As well as following the historical thread and exploring how very different cultures were drawn together by the salt fish trade, John Goodlad meets those whose lives revolve around the industry in the twenty-first century and addresses today’s pressing themes of sustainability, climate change and food choices.Trade Review'As bright and illuminating as the fish that are the subject of his writing, John Goodlad casts a sweeping eye over the North Atlantic fishing industry in the pages of this richly informative book' -- Donald S. Murray, author of The Guga Hunters'In his fascinating account of the part played by [The Shetland Islands and the Faroes] in the harvesting of cod and herring from the North Atlantic, John Goodlad raises vital questions about the world's food supplies' -- David Abulafia * The Spectator *'Tells the extraordinary story of how salt fish from the isles became one of the staple foods on the Continent' -- Hans J Marter * Shetland News *'John Goodlad's approach to the story of salt fish and Shetland feels rather like a masterclass in how to make history approachable, accessible, readable and entertaining' -- Ken Lussey * Undiscovered Scotland *'The Salt Roads is a valuable reminder of a forgotten time... it should be required reading for anyone who still thinks of Shetland as a remote, marginal outpost' * The Herald *'The book takes the reader to the wild waters of the North Atlantic and tells the story of how over the centuries the Shetland fishing industry not only inspired and affected the islands’ culture, but also shaped people far beyond its shores' * Dundee Courier *'This intriguing non-fiction title examines the economic boom of Shetland's salt fish trade' * Scots Magazine *'The Salt Roads is history, action on the high seas, personal memoir, folk tales and philology. It is an articulate expression of Shetland, which helps to explain how much the western islands can still learn from our can-do friends in the north' -- Roger Hutchinson * West Highland Free Press *'a gripping insight into life on the edge' * The Tablet, Summer Reading Roundup *'an extremely readable account of the Shetland cod fishery. Here you feel the wind, taste the salt: a quiet triumph' -- Alexander McCall Smith * New Statesman *

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Book Synopsis'An unlikely hero has a master storyteller to tell his tale. The King and the Christmas Tree is a poignant Christmas treat.' Lucy Worsley, historian, broadcaster and authorEvery December, a huge Christmas tree arrives in Trafalgar Square. Bedecked in lights, it is a shimmering, festive beacon in the heart of London. But even more enchanting than the twinkling decorations and scented pine is the story behind the tree; a story of loyalty, friendship and resistance.On a cold evening in 1940, German warships made their way towards Oslo. It seemed inevitable that Norway, like so many other European nations, would soon submit to the Nazi regime. But the country's indomitable King Haakon VII refused to surrender. Making his escape through his country towards the safe haven of Britain, King Haakon became an icon of hope for his people. And so, over seventy years later, the tree in Trafalgar Square remains as an enduring gift of thanks from Norway to the people of Britain.In The King and the Christmas Tree historian A. N. Wilson artfully weaves together this tale of courage and friendship between nations. Richly illustrated and beautifully told, it is a delightful Christmas cracker for everyone, young and old alike.Trade Review'An unlikely hero has a master storyteller to tell his tale. The King and the Christmas Tree is a poignant Christmas treat.' -- Lucy Worsley'Reads like a thriller; a tale of human courage and resistance' -- Lady Antonia FraserI loved this book, not read without shedding a tear, reminding us that true democracy goes hand-in-hand with true kingship. -- Roy Strong

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Book SynopsisThese essays from the 1970s mark the inception of the distinctive project that Jacques Rancière has pursued across forty years, with four interwoven themes: the study of working-class identity, of its philosophical interpretation, of "heretical" knowledge and of the relationship between work and leisure.Trade ReviewOne of our most stimulating thinkers. * Paris Match *"The essays in Staging the People provide both empirical-historical instantiations and the intellectual road map to the later explicit theoretical formulation in Disagreement for which he is more renowned in the anglophone world. What is evident in this collection of articles is that his more recent political theory must be understood as coming intentionally out of the earlier post '68 empirical and historical works undertaken in an attempt to return 'speech' to the mere 'voice' of the oppressed, exploited, and marginalised, in whose name the intellectuals of the left have repeatedly spoken, with disastrous consequences" -- Capital & Class

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Book SynopsisExperience the harsh lives and privations of our Victorian ancestors. Meet the criminal classes, the murderers, wife-beaters, prostitutes, petty-thieves, infamous Peaky Blinders - and maybe some of your ancestors - in an unsentimental journey back in time to "Birmingham ... the Sinister Side.

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Book Synopsis'The contribution made by American capitalism to German war preparations can only be described as phenomenal. It was certainly crucial to German military capabilities...Not only was an influential sector of American business aware of the nature of Naziism, but for its own purposes aided Naziism wherever possible (and profitable) - with full knowledge that the probable outcome would be war involving Europe and the United States'. Penetrating a cloak of falsehood, deception and duplicity, Professor Antony C. Sutton reveals one of the most remarkable but unreported facts of the Second World War: that key Wall Street banks and American businesses supported Hitler's rise to power by financing and trading with Nazi Germany. Carefully tracing this closely guarded secret through original documents and eyewitness accounts, Sutton comes to the unsavoury conclusion that the catastrophic Second World War was extremely profitable for a select group of financial insiders. He presents a thoroughly documented account of the role played by J.P. Morgan, T.W. Lamont, the Rockefeller interests, General Electric Company, Standard Oil, National City Bank, Chase and Manhattan banks, Kuhn, Loeb and Company, General Motors, the Ford Motor Company, and scores of others in helping to prepare the bloodiest, most destructive war in history. This classic study, first published in 1976 - the third volume of a trilogy - is reproduced here in its original form. The other volumes in the series study the 1917 Lenin-Trotsky Revolution in Russia and the 1933 election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States.Trade Review'Sutton comes to conclusions that are uncomfortable for many businessmen and economists. For this reason his work tends to be either dismissed out of hand as extremeA" or, more often, simply ignored.' - Richard Pipes, Baird Professor Emeritus of History, Harvard University (quoted from Survival Is Not Enough: Soviet Realities and America's Future)Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Unexplored Facets of Naziism PART ONE: Wall Street Builds Nazi Industry Chapter One Wall Street Paves the Way for Hitler 1924: The Dawes Plan 1928: The Young Plan B.I.S. - The Apex of Control Building the German Cartels Chapter Two The Empire of I.G. Farben The Economic Power of I.G. Farben Polishing I.G. Farben's Image The American I.G. Farben Chapter Three General Electric Funds Hitler General Electric in Weimar, Germany General Electric & the Financing of Hitler Technical Cooperation with Krupp A.E.G. Avoids the Bombs in World War II Chapter Four Standard Oil Duels World War II Ethyl Lead for the Wehrmacht Standard Oil and Synthetic Rubber The Deutsche-Amerikanische Petroleum A.G. Chapter Five I.T.T. Works Both Sides of the War Baron Kurt von Schroder and I.T.T. Westrick, Texaco, and I.T.T. I.T.T. in Wartime Germany PART TWO: Wall Street and Funds for Hitler Chapter Six Henry Ford and the Nazis Henry Ford: Hitler's First Foreign Banker Henry Ford Receives a Nazi Medal Ford Assists the German War Effort Chapter Seven Who Financed Adolf Hitler? Some Early Hitler Backers Fritz Thyssen and W.A. Harriman Company Financing Hitler in the March 1933 Elections The 1933 Political Contributions Chapter Eight Putzi: Friend of Hitler and Roosevelt Putzi's Role in the Reichstag Fire Roosevelt's New Deal and Hitler's New Order Chapter Nine Wall Street and the Nazi Inner Circle The S.S. Circle of Friends I.G. Farben and the Keppler Circle Wall Street and the S.S. Circle Chapter Ten The Myth of "Sidney Warburg" Who Was "Sidney Warburg"? Synopsis of the Suppressed "Warburg" Book James Paul Warbur's Affidavit Some Conclusions from the "Warburg" Story Chapter Eleven Wall Street-Nazi Collaboration in World War II American I.G. in World War II Were American Industrialists and Financiers Guilty of War Crimes? Chapter Twelve Conclusions The Pervasive Influence of International Bankers Is the United States Ruled by a Dictatorial Elite? The New York Elite as a Subversive Force The Slowly Emerging Revisionist Truth Appendix A Program of the National Socialist German Workers Party Appendix B Affidavit of Hjalmar Schacht Appendix C Entries in the "National Trusteeship" Account Appendix D Letter from the U.S. War Department to Ethyl Corporation Appendix E Extract from Morgenthau Diary (Germany) Footnotes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAt a time when tensions between Russia and “the West '' are increasing, this book is very timely, even though, its contents were first broadcast over fifty years ago. It offers a history of Russian culture and its particular trends and tendencies, which are shown to be frequently contradictory and even mutually exclusive. Schmemann argues for the supremacy of culture over political life in determining questions such as the apparent lack of political freedoms, law and order and civil rights in a Russian context.Table of ContentsForeword HTM Foreword by Maria Vasilyeva THE CULTURAL DEBATE IN THE USSR: A PROTEST THE DISPUTE OVER CULTURE IN THE SOVIET UNION “CULTURE” IN RUSSIAN SELF-IDENTITY PARADOXES OF RUSSIAN CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 4. MAXIMALISM MINIMALISM UTOPIANISM THE “EXPLOSION” OF RUSSIAN CULTURAL IDENTITY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Talk 1 Talk 2 Talk 3 RENUNCIATION OF CULTURE IN THE NAME OF PRAGMATISM RENUNCIATION OF CULTURE IN THE NAME OF RELIGION RENUNCIATION OF CULTURE IN THE NAME OF SOCIAL UTOPIA TOLSTOY AND CULTURE DOSTOEVSKY AND RUSSIAN CULTURE CULTURAL IDENTITY AT “THE BEGINNING OF THE CENTURY” Talk 1 Talk 2 ABANDONMENT OF THE MORAL FOUNDATIONS OF CULTURE THE INITIAL REACTION TO THE REVOLUTION THE ENSLAVEMENT OF CULTURE CREATIVE RESISTANCE Talk 1 Talk 2 Talk 3 THE PAST AND TRADITION THE WEST TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE SOCIAL TOPICS RELIGIOUS THEMES AT A CROSSROADS ON THE PATH TO SYNTHESIS Talk 1 Talk 2 CONCLUSION Notes Index of Names

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Book SynopsisDavid Fathers presents a unique and richly illustrated guide to the London section of the Thames Path, newly updated to reflect the city's ever-changing landscape. The iconic path, which stretches from the lost floodplains of Richmond all the way  to the Thames Barrier, is a panoramic 40-mile walk through 2000 years of London's history. From the old docks and wharves that primed the Industrial Revolution, through the heart of British Government, Monarchy and Church to the City of London that took its very existence from the river. From the site of the Putney Debates at St Mary's Church to Wren's mighty baroque cathedral of St Paul's. From the great Victorian engineering works of Sir Joseph Bazalgette and his attempts to clean up a polluted London and the river to the Thames Barrier seeking to protect huge parts of London from rising sea levels. From London Bridge, site of the old

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Book SynopsisThe Penguin History of Europe series... is one of contemporary publishing's great projects.--New Statesman It was an age of hope and possibility, of accomplishment and expansion. Europe's High Middle Ages spanned the Crusades, the building of Chartres Cathedral, Dante's Inferno, and Thomas Aquinas. Buoyant, confident, creative, the era seemed to be flowering into a true renaissance-until the disastrous fourteenth century rained catastrophe in the form of plagues, famine, and war. In Europe in the High Middle Ages, William Chester Jordan paints a vivid, teeming landscape that captures this lost age in all its glory and complexity. Here are the great popes who revived the power of the Church against the secular princes; the writers and thinkers who paved the way for the Renaissance; the warriors who stemmed the Islamic tide in Spain and surged into Palestine; and the humbler estates, those who found new hope and prosperity until the long niTrade ReviewThe Penguin History of Europe series ... is one of contemporary publishing's great projects New Statesman With five volumes now out, the Penguin History of Europe series ... is shaping up to be the best general account available, superseding all previous ones EconomistTable of ContentsPart I Europe in the 11th century: Christendom in the year 1000; Mediterranean Europe; Northmen, Celts and Anglo-Saxons; Francia/France; central Europe. Part II The Renaissance of the 12th century: the investiture controversy; the first crusade; the world of learning; cultural innovations of the 12th century - vernacular literature and architecture; political power and its contexts I; political power and its contexts II. Part III The 13th century: social structures; the Pontificate of Innocent III and the Fourth Lateran Council; learning; the kingdoms of the north; Baltic and central Europe; the Gothic world; southern Europe. Part IV Christendom in the early 14th century: famine and plague; political and social violence; the church in crisis.

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Book Synopsis'Monumental . . . A wonderful book.' Peter Frankopan'Magisterial . . . remarkable.' Guardian'Erudite and highly readable . . . An authoritative guide to the countless ways in which Greek words and ideas have shaped the modern world.' Financial TimesThe Greeks is a story which takes us from the archaeological treasures of the Bronze Age Aegean and myths of gods and heroes, to the politics of the European Union today. It is a story of inventions, such as the alphabet, philosophy and science, but also of reinvention: of cultures which merged and multiplied, and adapted to catastrophic change. It is the epic, revelatory history of the Greek-speaking people and their global impact told as never before.

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Book SynopsisWhen the Romans came north to what is now modern Scotland they encountered the fierce and proud warrior society known as the Picts, who despite their lack of discipline and arms, managed to prevent the undefeated Roman Army from conquering the northern part of Britain, just as they later repulsed the Angles and the Vikings. A New History of the Picts is an accessible true history of the Picts, who are so often misunderstood. New historical analysis, recently discovered evidence and an innovative Scottish perspective will expose long held assumptions about the native people. This controversial text contests that Scottish history has long since been dominated and distorted by misleading perspectives. A New History of the Picts discredits the idea that the Picts were a strange historical anomaly and shows them to be the descendants of the original inhabitants of the land, living in a series of loose tribal confederations gradually brought together by external forces to create one of the earliest states in Europe: a people, who after repulsing all invaders, merged with their cousins, the Scots of Argyll, to create modern Scotland. All of Scotland descends from the fierce Picts.Trade ReviewWritten and arranged in a way that is both accessible and scholarly, this is an excellent addition to the growing body of work on the Picts. THE COURIER A New History is a very valuable contribution to historical debate and cultural understanding. It also serves to bring issues often reserved to specialists to a general readership. DONALD SMITH, SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE

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Book Synopsis'A brilliant tour-de-force' - Times Literary SupplementBomber Command is acclaimed historian Sir Max Hastings' compelling account of one of the most controversial struggles of the Second World War.RAF Bomber Command’s offensive against the cities of Germany was one of the epic campaigns of the Second World War. More than 56,000 British and Commonwealth aircrew and 600,000 Germans died in the course of the RAF’s attempt to win the war by bombing. The struggle began in 1939 with a few primitive Whitleys, Hampdens and Wellingtons, and ended six years later with 1,600 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitoes razing whole cities in a single night.Max Hastings traced the developments of area bombing using a wealth of documents, letters, diaries and interviews with key surviving witnesses. Bomber Command is, in turn, a fascinating, meticulously-researched, and vivid assessment of the RAF's integral role in the Second World War.Trade ReviewProbably the most brilliant use of anecdotal material that has so far come out of the Second World War . . . A brilliant tour-de-force. * Times Literary Supplement *This is the most critical book yet written about Bomber Command . . . it is also far and away the best * The Economist *Table of ContentsSection - i: List of Illustrations Section - ii: Foreward Section - iii: Prologue: Norfolk and Heligoland Bight, 18 December 1939 Chapter - 1: In the Beginning, Trenchard: British Bomber Policy, 1917-40 Chapter - 2: 82 Squadron, Norfolk, 1940-41 Chapter - 3: 10 Squadron, Yorkshire, 1940-41 Chapter - 4: Crisis of Confidence, 1941-42 Chapter - 5: The Coming of Area Bombing Chapter - 6: 50 Squadron, Lincolnshire, 1942 Chapter - 7: Protests and Policy, 1942-43 Chapter - 8: 76 Squadron, Yorkshire, 1943 Chapter - 9: The Other Side of the Hill: Germany 1940-44 Chapter - 10: Bomber Command Headquarters, Buckinghamshire, 1943-44 Chapter - 11: Conflict and Compromise, 1943-44 Chapter - 12: Pathfinders: 97 Squadron, Lincolnshire, 1944 Chapter - 13: 'A Quiet Trip All Round': Darmstadt, 11/12 September 1944 Chapter - 14: Saturation Chapter - 15: The Balance Sheet Section - iv: Appendix A: Bomber Command sorties dispatched and aircraft missing and written off, 1939-45 Section - v: Appendix B: Specifications and performance of the principal aircraft of Bomber Command and Luftwaffe night-fighters, 1939-45 Section - vi: Appendix C: Letter to Sir Norman Bottomley from Sir Arthur Harris Section - vii: Appendix D: British and German production of selected armanents, 1940-44 Section - viii: Appendix E: Schedule of German Cities subjected to area attack by Bomber Command, 1942-45 Section - ix: Appendix F: Comparative Allied and German aircraft production, 1939-45 Section - x: Bibliography and a note on sources Section - xi: Notes and references Section - xii: Glossary od ranks, abbreviations and codenames Acknowledgements - xiii: Acknowledgements Index - xiv: Index

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Book SynopsisNot For Turning is the first volume of Charles Moore''s authorized biography of Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving Prime Minister of the twentieth century and one of the most influential political figures of the postwar era. Charles Moore''s biography of Margaret Thatcher, published after her death on 8 April 2013, immediately supersedes all earlier books written about her. At the moment when she becomes a historical figure, this book also makes her into a three dimensional one for the first time. It gives unparalleled insight into her early life and formation, especially through her extensive correspondence with her sister, which Moore is the first author to draw on. It recreates brilliantly the atmosphere of British politics as she was making her way, and takes her up to what was arguably the zenith of her power, victory in the Falklands. (This volume ends with the Falklands Dinner in Downing Street in November 1982.) Moore is clearly an admirer of his suTrade ReviewMoore has produced a biography so masterly ... that it comes as close as biography can come to being a work of art -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *Moore's great gift is his ability to make Thatcher's story fresh again, and above all to remind us of how odd she was ... the access to her family and friends enabled Moore to produce a multifaceted picture of a compelling life ... [this] will now become the definitive account -- Anne Applebaum * Daily Telegraph *Intricate, elegant and laced with dry humour -- Andrew Rawnsley * Observer *Outstandingly good -- A.N. Wilson * Evening Standard *

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Book Synopsis''A masterpiece ... a moving image of post-war Poland, and the first breathing of one of the essential voices of the twentieth century... the master of literary reportage'' The Times Literary SupplementWhen the great traveller-reporter Ryszard Kapuscinski was a young journalist in the early 1960s, he was sent to write about the farthest reaches of his native Poland. The resulting essays brought together here reveal a place as strange as any of the distant lands he visited on foreign assignments: caught between ties to the past and dreams of escape, a country on the edge of modernity.''Kapuscinski trascends the limitations of journalism and writes with the narrative power of a Conrad or Kipling or Orwell'' Blake MorrisonTrade ReviewA peculiar genius with no modern equivalent, except possibly Kafka -- Jonathan MillerKapuscinski trascends the limitations of journalism and writes with the narrative power of a Conrad or Kipling or Orwell -- Blake Morrison

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Book SynopsisThe Agricola is both a portrait of Julius Agricola—the most famous governor of Roman Britain and Tacitus' well-loved and respected father-in-law—and the first detailed account of Britain that has come down to us. It offers fascinating descriptions of the geography, climate and peoples of the country, and a succinct account of the early stages of the Roman occupation, nearly fatally undermined by Boudicca's revolt in AD 61 but consolidated by campaigns that took Agricola as far as Anglesey and northern Scotland. The warlike German tribes are the focus of Tacitus' attention in the Germania, which, like the Agricola, often compares the behaviour of barbarian peoples favourably with the decadence and corruption of Imperial Rome.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throu

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Book SynopsisFrom Larry Siedentop, acclaimed author of Democracy in Europe, Inventing the Individual is a highly original rethinking of how our moral beliefs were formed and their impact on western society today''Magisterial, timeless, beautifully written ... Siedentop has achieved something quite extraordinary. He has explained us to ourselves'' SpectatorThis ambitious and stimulating book describes how a moral revolution in the first centuries AD - the discovery of human freedom and its universal potential - led to a social revolution in the west. The invention of a new, equal social role, the individual, gradually displaced the claims of family, tribe and caste as the basis of social organisation. Larry Siedentop asks us to rethink the evolution of the ideas on which modern societies and government are built, and argues that the core of what is now our system of beliefs emerged much earlier than we think. The roots of liberalism - belief in individTrade ReviewMagisterial, timeless, beautifully written ... Siedentop has achieved something quite extraordinary. He has explained us to ourselves * Spectator *One of the most stimulating books of political theory to have appeared in many years ... a refreshingly unorthodox account of the roots of modern liberalism in medieval Christian thinking -- John Gray * Literary Review *A brave, brilliant and beautifully written defence of the western tradition -- Paul Lay * History Today *Thoroughly interesting and fundamentally convincing ... admirably nuanced ... formidable ... Inventing the Individual is written with effortless lucidity -- Jeffrey Collins * TLS *An engrossing book of ideas ... illuminating, beautifully written and rigorously argued -- Kenan Malik * Independent *A most impressive work of philosophical history -- Robert Skidelsky

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Book SynopsisCSI: Ancient Rome – what can everyday killings tell us about the Empire and its people?Trade Review‘A brilliant idea, brilliantly executed.’ -- Tom Holland, author of Rubicon, Dynasty and Dominion‘Southon brings some great and little-known murder stories to light, revelling in the bizarre and the macabre.’ * BBC History Magazine *‘She has a rare gift… Those left cold by the sober tones of scholarship will find this voice liberating and intoxicating. Its energy is boundless and its range immense… At a moment when the study of classics struggles to escape its starchy, imperialist legacy, Ms Southon’s cheeky enthusiasm feels like the path of salvation.’ -- Wall Street Journal‘Blood, guts, murder, emperors and a sprinkling of uplifting Latin. A wonderful book on the Roman way of death. Mirabile dictu!’ -- Harry Mount, author of Carpe Diem and Amo Amas Amat... and All That‘I love this funny, scholarly, erudite, irreverent book; Emma Southon wears her learning lightly but we never for a moment doubt her authority, and the past arrives with total immediacy from the first page. Reading it is like seeing a classical statue not remote and austere on a pedestal, but painted in all its original bright colours.’ -- Sarah Perry, author of Melmoth and The Essex Serpent'The genius of Emma Southon’s new book, A Fatal Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome, is that it simultaneously humanizes the Romans and alienates us from them, portraying a society that’s at once a familiar ancestor and a rabid monster.' -- Foreign Policy‘this very approachable analysis of Classical homicide isn’t a dry academic tract… conversational and tongue-in-cheek without sacrificing scholarly credibility. A good chance to learn a lot and have fun doing it.’ * Herald (Glasgow) *

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Book SynopsisCaroline Moorehead is a bestselling and prize-winning author, and the biographer of Bertrand Russell, Freya Stark, Iris Origo, Madame de la Tour du Pin and Martha Gellhorn. Her recent books a quartet focussed on resistance to dictatorship, particularly in Italy were shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize, the Orwell Prize and the Costa Biography Award. She lives in London.Trade ReviewBrilliant… It is refreshing to read a book that so confidently abandons the rhetoric of heroism and tries to see its subjects for who they were… Moorehead has had to master a huge amount of background material, and she pulls it off with skill and a remarkable lightness of touch -- Keith Lowe * Mail on Sunday *Riven with complexity… Stories of this weight could occupy several volumes and would still disorientate with all the possibilities – both altruistic and malevolent – of human nature -- Sinclair Mckay * Telegraph *Vivid...an unsparing yet balanced account of the Vichy years...we need books like this to make it impossible for us to forget. -- Alan Judd * Spectator *An especially poignant story… enthralling and meticulous book… amidst the horror of the Holocaust – and such horror is painfully evident in the lives of those left behind – this book shows that human kindness endured undimmed by the propaganda, the threats of violence and the vast rewards on offer for submitting to the will of Nazis -- Harry Hodges * Daily Express *Moorehead draws vivid portraits of those who helped…The emotional heart of the book beats in the children’s stories…The story does not end with Liberation. Moorehead, a biographer and historian, scrupulously records the emotional fallout from the children’s experiences -- Edward Stourton * The Times *

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Book SynopsisTHE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER ON THE LAST DAYS OF THE THIRD REICH2025 marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Read and remember the history that led to this important moment.''Recounts, in harrowing detail and with formidable skill, the brutal death-throes of Hitler''s Reich at the hands of the rampaging Red Army'' Boyd Tonkin, Independent''An irresistibly compelling narrative, of events so terrible that they still have the power to provoke wonder and awe'' Adam Sisman, ObserverThe Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Reich in January 1945. Political instructors rammed home the message of Wehrmacht and SS brutality. The result was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known, with tanks crushing refugee columns under their tracks, mass rape, pillage and destruction. Hundreds of thousands of women and children froze to death or were massacred because Nazi Party chiefs, refusing to face defeat, had forbidden the evacuation of civilians. Over seven million fled westwards from the terror of the Red Army.Antony Beevor reconstructs the experiences of those millions caught up in the nightmare of the Third Reich''s final collapse, telling a terrible story of pride, stupidity, fanaticism, revenge and savagery - but also one of astonishing endurance, self-sacrifice and survival against all odds.''Makes us feel the chaos and the fear as if every drop of blood was our own . . . compellingly readable, deeply researched, and beautifully written'' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Spectator''Brilliant. Combines a soldier''s understanding of war''s realities with a novelist''s eye for detail'' Orlando Figes, Sunday Times''Startling, chilling, compelling. Beevor''s writing burns like a torch at night in a landscape of ruins''Literary Review''Powerful, diligently researched and beautifully written . . . even better than Stalingrad'' Andrew Roberts, Mail on SundayTrade ReviewFascinating, extraordinary, gripping * Jeremy Paxman *A masterpiece of modern historical writing -- Michael Burleigh * Guardian *This brilliant storyteller makes us feel the chaos and the fear as if every drop of blood was our own. It is much more than just a humane account; it is compellingly readable, deeply researched, and beautifully written -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisWhat caused the Russian Revolution?Did it succeed or fail?Do we still live with its consequences?Orlando Figes teaches history at Birkbeck, University of London and is the author of many acclaimed books on Russian history, including A People''s Tragedy, which The Times Literary Supplement named as one of the ''100 most influential books since the war'', Natasha''s Dance, The Whisperers, Crimea and Just Send Me Word. The Financial Times called him ''the greatest storyteller of modern Russian historians.''Trade ReviewInsightful and convincing... Figes integrates his analysis into a highly readable story, and he shows himself to be a master of historical narrative. Readers will find themselves absorbing a great deal of information and insight with very little effort -- David Priestland * Financial Times *A primer intended for readers unfamiliar with the territory, it sparkles with ideas, vivid storytelling, poignant anecdotes and pithy phrases... Fresh and dramatic -- Victor Sebestyen * Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis''The best single-volume study of the Enlightenment that we have'' Literary ReviewThe Enlightenment is one of the formative periods of Western history, yet more than 300 years after it began, it remains controversial. It is often seen as the fountainhead of modern values such as human rights, religious toleration, freedom of thought, scientific thought as an exemplary form of reasoning, and rationality and evidence-based argument. Others accuse the Enlightenment of putting forward a scientific rationality which ignores the complexity and variety of human beings, propagates shallow atheism, and aims to subjugate nature to so-called technical progress.Answering the question ''what is Enlightenment?'' Kant famously urged men and women above all to ''have the courage to use your own understanding''. Robertson shows how the thinkers of the Enlightenment did just that, seeking a rounded understanding of humanity in which reason was balanced with emotion and sensibility. His book goes behind the controversies about the Enlightenment to return to its original texts and to show that above all it sought to increase human happiness in this world by promoting scientific inquiry and reasoned argument. His book overturns many received opinions - for example, that enlightenment necessarily implied hostility to religion (though it did challenge the authority traditionally assumed by the Churches). It is a master-class in ''big picture'' history, about one of the foundational epochs of modern times.Trade Reviewcogently expressed and scrupulously documented ... The Enlightenment, he believes, has an urgent message for our time -- Keith Thomas * London Review of Books *the book is written out of genuine curiosity and palpable enthusiasm. Robertson's range allows him to make many illuminating comparisons and some provocative juxtapositions ... This is surely the best and most up to date single-volume study of the Enlightenment that we currently possess. It will inform the general reader while also often provoking, delighting and surprising the specialist. -- David Womersley * Standpoint *The Enlightenment by Ritchie Robertson is a fine examination of how the enlightenment changed the world in different ways in different places - scintillating. -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Aspects of History Books of the Year *a work that is at once readable, authoritative and wide-ranging ... a handsome single volume, complete with nearly 30 images from the great first editions of the period. The author is a professor of German literature and thought at Oxford University, but whatever the specific subject addressed, the quality of scholarship is uniformly high. -- Jesse Norman * Spectator *learned, capacious and gloriously rich ... "The first Quality of an Historian," David Hume wrote to a friend, "is to be true and impartial; the next to be interesting." Judged by such a standard, Robertson must be reckoned a historian of very high quality indeed. His book is not just learned and balanced, it is also - in the noblest tradition of the Enlightenment itself - principled and humane. -- Tom Holland * The Times *Mr. Robertson is a splendid writer, astoundingly versed in European letters and gifted at vividly sketching the views of the "Enlighteners." ... Mr. Robertson, armed with a prodigious knowledge of the Enlightenment's literary output, has captured the tone and spirit of this milieu. -- Jeffrey Collins * Wall Street Journal *Mr. Robertson is a splendid writer, astoundingly versed in European letters and gifted at vividly sketching the views of the "Enlighteners" ... [who] has written a fitting tribute to his subject ... Often characterized as a great philosophical movement, it is better understood as a style, a set of shifting public habits and attitudes. Mr. Robertson, armed with a prodigious knowledge of the Enlightenment's literary output, has captured the tone and spirit of this milieu. -- Jeffrey Collins * Wall Street Journal *Masterly...[an] epic survey of Enlightened minds, ideas and policies across Europe and the Americas...Mr Robertson sweetens erudition with humanity, much as his subjects did. Science and statecraft, which are amply chronicled, yield to compassion, sympathy and a self-critical outlook that welcomes experimentation and changes of mind. Not least among its lessons for today, The Enlightenment shows how its sages learned "to manage even Disputes with Civility". -- The EconomistA thoroughly satisfying history of an era that was not solely about reason but was "also the age of feeling, sympathy and sensibility." ... a magisterial history of Europe and the West, featuring more than 100 chapters ... An entirely absorbing doorstop history of ideas. * Kirkus Reviews *The analyst has to stick to the ideas. Robertson does this expansively and lucidly, not just reporting them, but arguing them out in admirable thumbnail sketches, rich in detail, of literary as well as philosophical and also scientific works. -- T.J. Reed * Catholic Herald *A professor of German language and literature, Robertson knows that writing good history means clearing away easy preconceptions. His work implies that to understand the Enlightenment, or perhaps any period, it is less useful to distil a set of theses than to identify a group of questions that people agreed were important, even if they furnished very different answers. Thus he avoids sweeping generalizations and focuses on the particular: he has an eye for revealing anecdotes and memorable quotations. ... When he portrays the major figures of the period itself and identifies the complex questions they raised, Robertson transports us to the past as only a master historian can, allowing us to empathize with perspectives different from our own. As a comprehensive study of the period itself, Robertson's The Enlightenment towers over all others I have encountered. -- Gary Saul Morson * Claremont Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisThe story of street food in London, from medieval city to global metropolis - and of the women, men, boys, and girls who provided the capital with this vital service.Trade Reviewa tasty tour of how we used to eat... richly researched * Bee Wilson, The Sunday Times *an immensely vivid portrayal of a forgotten London, and a tribute to the hard lives and admirable independence and resilience of Londoners past. * Christopher Hart, Daily Mail *Accessible and enjoyable... makes for vibrant, engaging reading. It is a world reconstructed with real humanity and warmth For anyone interested in the economics of food or the capitals history, this is a fascinating book. * Olivia Potts, The Spectator *Highly enjoyable, well researched and full of details, Street Food is a must read for anyone with a hunger for Londons culinary history. * CM, All About History *engaging...a comprehensive narrative, debunking stereotypes and detailing everything from the tools of the hawkers' trade... to the famous cries of the street. * Charles Wright, OnLondon *a lively and engrossing book, full of fascinating historical facts and illustrations. * , Shiny New Books *Street Food: Hawkers and the History of London places street trading and markets in the context of a changing city with a diverse population that adapted frequently...it will be enjoyed by anyone who wants to learn more about London's history, its neighbourhoods and the role that markets and street food played both in the past and present. * Diane Cunningham, London Society *Street Food traces the history of London's street traders starting from the sixteenth century and bringing things bang up to date with the impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns. It takes us through the people involved, the food, the 'cries' which evolved into terms still in use and the challenges facing traders from housing to traffic, broken pavements, and their reputation...it will be enjoyed by anyone who wants to learn more about London's history, its neighbourhoods and the role that markets and street food played both in the past and present. * Diane Cunningham, London Society *Beautifully written and underpinned by impressive scholarship, Street Food exemplifies a new and distinctive style of history writing...This volume represents both an exemplar of what can be achieved, and a challenge to others. * Tim Hitchcock, London Journal *An entertaining, deeply researched history of hawking * John Gallagher, London Review of Books *Taverner excels at transporting us to the world he explores... this highly accomplished first book should be on the reading lists not only of historians of work, of food and drink and of London, but of any historian interested in processes of change and continuity in English society over the past 400 years. * Mark Hailwood, Urban History *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of illustrations Note to the reader Introduction: Hawkers and the history of London Part 1: People Fishwives and costermongers All sorts of Londoners The status of street sellers Hawkers at home Part 2: Workers Gutter merchants Aristocracy of the kerb The costermonger class Part 3: Street food Garden city Perishing commodities As regular as the weather permits Moveable feasts The metropolitan diet Part 4: Markets Liberty of the markets In defence of hawkers Friends of the poor Part 5: Retailers About the streets Keeping score Carnivals of shopping Part 6: Tools Shops on their heads Barrow wheelers The coster's companion Part 7: Traffic Broken pavements Around the clock Crossing the road Part 8: Nuisances The costermongers' charter Infamous wretches Preventing free passage Part 9: Voices Tortures of the ear The crying art Declaring the seasons The end of the cries? Epilogue: The return of street food Curating street food Hawkers past and present Notes Appendix: Identifying street sellers, 1600-1825 Index

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Book SynopsisBarbara Tuchman''s The Guns of August is a spellbinding history of the fateful first month when Britain went to war.War pressed against every frontier. Suddenly dismayed, governments struggled and twisted to fend it off. It was no use . . .Barbara Tuchman''s universally acclaimed, Pulitzer prize-winning account of how the first thirty days of battle determined the course of the First World War is to this day revered as the classic account of the conflict''s opening. From the precipitous plunge into war and the brutal and bloody battles of August 1914, Tuchman shows how events were propelled by a horrific logic which swept all sides up in its unstoppable momentum.''Dazzling'' Max Hastings''Magnificent'' Guardian''Fascinating, splendid, glittering. One of the finest works of history'' New York Times''A brilliant achievement'' Sunday TelegraphTrade ReviewDazzling -- Max HastingsMagnificent. A masterpiece of the historian's art * Guardian *A brilliant achievement * Sunday Telegraph *Excellent * Wall Street Journal *A brilliant piece of military history. A writer with an impeccable sense of telling detail, Tuchman is able to evoke both the enormous pattern of tragedy and the minutiae which make it human * Newsweek *

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Book SynopsisStretch and challenge your students with SHP''s longest-lived and best-selling series for GCSE History.This is an SHP Official Text which means it has been created by the Schools History Project for use with the GCSE specifications. This is part of SHP''s comprehensive and authoritative range of books for GCSE level specifications. Click here to find out more about the Schools History Project and their award winning publications.Britain and the Great War This title is a comprehensive and authoritative depth study for use with all GCSE level specifications. It thoroughly covers the content requirements of the OCR, Edexcel, AQA and CIE specifications using an enquiry-based approach. It is also a popular international text being widely used in Australia.It is written by experts who understand both how to design good teaching material but also understand the exact assessment requirements of each specification. The Student''s Book combines:- Clear explanation of specification content- Classroom-trialled activities that really motivate students- Extensive and intriguing source material and case studies It will enliven any history course.

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Book SynopsisThe first major biography of 18th century France's most mysterious woman, the daughter of Marie Antoinette, who vanished from public view during the tumultuous last days of the ancien regimeTrade Review'A poignant biography that recreates royalty, terror, tragedy, revolution, and restoration with verve and vividness' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'A powerful story told with wonderful verve: a triumph' Amanda Foreman 'Masterly and compelling a triumph' Tina Brown, author of The Diana Chronicles 'An utterly compelling biography' Daily Express

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Book SynopsisThis textbook supports the specification for AS and A-Level Ancient History (first teaching September 2017). It covers the whole of Component 2, both the compulsory Period Study and the three optional Depth Studies:Period Study: The Julio-Claudian Emperors, 31 BCAD 68 by Robert Cromarty and James HarrisonDepth Study: The Breakdown of the Late Republic, 8831 BC by Steve MatthewsDepth Study: The Flavians, AD 6896 by Robert Cromarty Depth Study: Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43c.128 by James HarrisonHow did Augustus change the Roman Constitution? Why was the Roman Republic doomed to fail? How did the Flavians re-invent the Imperial image? What was life like in Roman Britain?These are the sort of questions that you are required to consider for A-Level Ancient History. This textbook guides you through the use of power and politics in the Roman Senate and Imperial court from the Late Republic into the Principate. It considers individual ambition against theTable of ContentsIntroduction How to Use This Book Period Study: The Julio-Claudian Emperors, 31 BC–AD 68 Depth Study Option 1: The Breakdown of the Late Republic, 88–31 BC Depth Study Option 2: The Flavians, AD 68–96 Depth Study Option 3: Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43–c. 128 Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisInsanity, identity and empire examines the formation of colonial social identities inside the institutions for the insane in Australia and New Zealand. Taking a large sample of patient records, it pays particular attention to gender, ethnicity and class as categories of analysis, reminding us of the varied journeys of immigrants to the colonies and of how and where they stopped, for different reasons, inside the social institutions of the period. It is about their stories of mobility, how these were told and produced inside institutions for the insane, and how, in the telling, colonial identities were asserted and formed. Having engaged with the structural imperatives of empire and with the varied imperial meanings of gender, sexuality and medicine, historians have considered the movements of travellers, migrants, military bodies and medical personnel, and ‘transnational lives’. This book examines an empire-wide discourse of ‘madness’ as part of this inquiry.Trade Review'Cathy Coleborne has written a splendid book, one that is especially welcome for its comparative focus, and for its efforts to give us a sense of mental patients' lives in two colonial societies. This is a meticulously researched monograph that is crisply written and full of wonderful details, the whole forming a splendid addition to the burgeoning literature on the history of colonial psychiatry.'Andrew Scull, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Science Studies, University of California, San Diego'Coleborne [has] added important dimensions to the history of insanity in Australia and New Zealand, but even more significant is the depth of insight these works offer historians of immigration. They deserve a wide readership.'Stephen Garton, University of Sydney, Australian Historical Studies47, no. 2‘Historians are yet to explore the discursive stretch of madness throughout the British Empire, writes Coleborne. This expansive monograph, bringing together scholarly fields to examine madness thematically at two settler sites of empire, is an important step towards this.’James Dunk, University of Sydney‘Insanity, Identity and Empire draws on and extends Coleborne’s previously published works about institutional confinement.’ Ann Westmore, University of Melbourne , Health and History 18/2‘The book adds to a growing body of historical literature on disability and madness and, in particular, research on migration, disability, and madness.’Natalie Spagnuolo, York University, Toronto, H-Disability (January 2018) -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction: Insanity, identity and empire1. Insanity in the ‘age of mobility’: Melbourne and Auckland, 1850s–80s2. Immigrants, mental health and social institutions: Melbourne and Auckland, 1850s–90s3. Passing through: narrating patient identities in the colonial hospitals for the insane, 1873–19104. White men and weak masculinity: men in the public asylums, 1860s–1900s5. Insanity and white femininity: women in the public asylums, 1860s–1900s6. The ‘Others’: inscribing difference in colonial institutional settingsConclusionBibliographyIndex

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